If your dog bites a postal carrier, it could cost you thousands. (NAPS)

(NAPSI)—Can you picture a member of your family attacking a mail
carrier? Of course you couldn't, but it happened 5,714 times last year across
the nation.

Dearborn, Mich., letter carrier Tameka Toliver
recalls being pinned on a porch by a dog that bit her above her knee.
"It happened so fast, even with all my training, I barely had time to
react," Toliver said last year. "I'm
still scared when I get close to that house because I remember the attack so
vividly. It takes a long time to get over the fear."

When a dog attacks a letter carrier, the dog owner could be held liable
for all medical expenses, repayment of lost work hours, replacement of the
uniform and other costs, which can run into thousands of dollars. The Postal
Service places the safety of its employees as a top priority and dedicates a
week each April to Dog Bite Awareness.

Here are four simple tips to prevent dog bite injuries that should be
enforced year-round:

Door Delivery: If a carrier
delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog in a separate
room and close that door before opening the front door. Some dogs burst
through screen doors or plate-glass windows to attack visitors.

Electronic Fencing: Although
the electronic fence may keep your dog from wandering, it does not protect
your Postal Service carrier, who must enter your property to deliver the
mail. Even homes with curbside mailboxes may have oversized packages or
signature-needed items that require the carrier to approach a doorstep and
cross the boundaries of the electronic fence.

Dog in Yard: Make sure your dog
is properly restrained on a leash away from where your mail carrier is
delivering the mail. Mail delivery service can be interrupted at an address
or neighborhood the carrier deems unsafe because of an unrestrained dog. When
service is interrupted at an address or neighborhood, all parties involved
will have to pick mail up at their local post office.

Tracking: Dog owners who have access
to postal notification features such as Informed Delivery (informeddelivery.usps.com) for
letter mail and package tracking are urged to use this as a way to gauge when
the carrier is on his or her way and to ensure their dog is properly
restrained.

“When a dog attacks a letter
carrier, the dog owner could be held liable for all medical expenses,
repayment of lost work hours, replacement of the
uniform and other costs, which can run into thousands of dollars. http://bit.ly/2IrGZ8r”